World: Poverty gap at $4.20 a day (2021 PPP) (%)

Key figures

Since 1981 it is down 24.5 percentage points from 31% in 1981. The World Bank has no value for 1 of the years in between; the chart leaves those gaps open rather than joining across them.

What the numbers say

In 2024, World's poverty gap at $4.20 a day (2021 PPP) (%) fell 0.3 percentage points on 2023 (from 6.8% to 6.5%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1992 to 2023), the average change was −0.67 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.37 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.0 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 1.4 percentage points in 1989 and the biggest yearly fall was 1.3 percentage points in 2013. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2015 to 2024 the straight-line trend is downward, about 0.18 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 86% of the movement over 9 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

What this measures

Poverty gap at $4.20 a day (2021 PPP) is the mean shortfall in income or consumption from the poverty line $4.20 a day (counting the nonpoor as having zero shortfall), expressed as a percentage of the poverty line. This measure reflects the depth of poverty as well as its incidence.

Limitations: Despite progress in the last decade, the challenges of measuring poverty remain. The timeliness, frequency, quality, and comparability of household surveys need to increase substantially, particularly in the poorest countries. The availability and quality of poverty monitoring data remains low in small states, countries with fragile situations, and low-income countries and even some middle-income countries. The low frequency and lack of comparability of the data available in some countries create uncertainty over the magnitude of poverty reduction. Besides the frequency and timeliness of survey data, other data quality issues arise in measuring household living standards.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a population-weighted average.

All 43 values

Poverty gap at $4.20 a day (2021 PPP) (%) in nearby economies

• Egypt, Arab Rep. — 1.2% (2021)
• Iran, Islamic Rep. — 1.7% (2023)
• Israel — 0.3% (2022)
• Malta — 0.3% (2023)
• Pakistan — 13.9% (2024)

More poverty data for World

• Poverty headcount ratio at $3.00 a day (2021 PPP) (% of population) — 10.1% (2024)
• Poverty gap at $3.00 a day (2021 PPP) (%) — 3.5% (2024)
• Poverty headcount ratio at $4.20 a day (2021 PPP) (% of population) — 18.2% (2024)
• Poverty headcount ratio at societal poverty line (% of population) — 24.4% (2024)
• Poverty headcount ratio at $8.30 a day (2021 PPP) (% of population) — 46.2% (2024)
• Poverty gap at $8.30 a day (2021 PPP) (%) — 19.8% (2024)
• Prosperity gap (average shortfall from a prosperity standard of $28/day) — 4.6 (2024)

Every indicator for World is on the World data page.

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Questions people ask

What is World's poverty gap at $4.20 a day (2021 PPP) (%)?

6.5% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1981?

It is down 24.5 percentage points from 31% in 1981. The highest value was 31% in 1981 and the lowest 6.5% in 2024.

Is the latest change in poverty gap at $4.20 a day (2021 PPP) (%) unusual for World?

In 2024, World's poverty gap at $4.20 a day (2021 PPP) (%) fell 0.3 percentage points on 2023 (from 6.8% to 6.5%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1992 to 2023), the average change was −0.67 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.37 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.0 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Where does this data come from?

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SI.POV.LMIC.GP, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: World Bank, Poverty and Inequality Platform. Data are based on primary household survey data obtained from government statistical agencies and World Bank country departments. Data for high-income economies are mostly from the Luxembourg Income Study database. Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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